January 2015, Vol. 34, No. 1

‘OMG’

[481 words] “Oh my God!” Hardly a day goes by that we do not hear someone exclaim it. You hear it at work or school, at the bank or the supermarket, and sometimes even on the church parking lot. Television, no doubt, is the chief offender, with nearly every game show, soap opera, situation comedy,…

Commitment

[301 words] In the book, Driven from Within, Michael Jordan (Hall-of-Fame basketball player) recounts an event from his life that exemplifies just how committed he was to the things that were important to him. Jordan asked to borrow a jacket from a friend before they went out to have dinner together. He was told where…

Giving God the Glory

[321 words] “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation, the God who executes vengeance for me, and subdues peoples under me. He delivers me from my enemies; surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man” (Psalm…

A Deer and a Blind

[318 words] It was early Saturday morning. The alarm clock went off and I jumped out of bed, excited at the opportunity to do a little deer hunting. I threw on every article of clothing I found that was camouflaged, grabbed my bow, and headed to my blind (small camouflaged tent). It was a perfect…

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?

[359 words] It was a fact that Jesus was innocent. The Roman governor in charge of Judea, Pontius Pilate, so stated himself after having examined Jesus personally (John 19:4). It is also a fact that Jesus never even committed a single sin (Heb. 4:15). And yet, they fashioned the crown of thorns and placed a…

Path Determines Destination

[421 words] God created us as free moral agents. We choose the path we take in life, for good or for ill. While most of us relish our freedom, the down side is that we must take responsibility for the choices we make. I like the way Joe Fitch put it: “When you choose the…

The Seven S’s of the Savior

[164 words] Jesus came to the earth to… … Speak – “I have many things to say… He who sent Me is true ; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him” (John 8:26). … Seek – “for the Son ofMan has come to seek… that which was lost” (Luke…

Burning Your Priorities

[420 words] From Jumper Fables by Ken Davis Years ago, when I was a teenager, I sat in a youth meeting and listened to a speaker talk about identifying the important aspects of your lives. “Don’t waste your time working towards goals that aren’t really important to you,” he said. “Figure out what really is…

A Judgment Worse Than The Flood Looms!

[325 words] “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth… ” (Gen. 6:5). Before moving in judgment against the most evil and corrupt society in history, God commanded Noah to build an ark. It soon became a symbol of life and salvation to the few who believed God. Even though…

Jesus Solves Problems

[376 words] As I watched my television recently and saw people making accusations of racism and injustice, setting fire to police cars, breaking windows, and stealing from unprotected stores, one thought kept coming to mind: this country needs Jesus. If you have followed the Ferguson case at all, you probably have an opinion about it.…

Is Life Fair?

[333 words] Is life fair? Do we always have our needs met? It seems like in life we expect to be able to control every thing that happens to us. In a recent Oklahoma high school football game, the referees mistakenly erased a go-ahead touchdown because of an erroneous assessment of a penalty. The coach…

Habits Are First Cobwebs, Then Cables

[249 words] There is an old saying, “Habits are first cobwebs, then cables.” We have all experienced how true this proverb is. Some habits are ridiculously tough to form and others nearly impossible to break. If we continue building our habits, they can turn to addictions. This can either be wonderful or terrible. In 1…

Dees The Bible Really Mean This?

[238 words] “Do all things without complaining and disputing” (Phil. 2:14). When the children of Israel left the bondage of Egypt one of the first things they started to do was complain. If you recall God did not deal kindly with such actions, He put them to death! Do we think that the judgment of…

God ls Colorblind

[441 words] Quite often, when someone learns that I am colorblind, they begin to quiz my ability to see colors. “What color is this?” “And how about this one-what color is this?” Colorblindness is not the same for every person that experiences it. For example, I know a man that is so red-green colorblind that…

What About Me?

[195 words] My sister is taking a meal to the sick My brother has gone a wayward one to see They both were busy, no “convenient” time to pick But what about me? They invite their neighbors to come to church Have over people with frequency and glee For good deeds they seem to constantly…

Remember Who You Are

[528 words] If you are familiar with the story The Lion King, you know the critical point of Simba’s life. He was a young lion cub destined to become the next King. But due to some tragic events, including the death of his father, and the evil influence of his wicked uncle he had left…

Are You Lying to God?

[132 words] Acts chapter five contains a familiar account. It tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They sold some land and gave a portion of that money to the church. Normally this would be a great deed. However, they claimed that they were giving everything to the church, most likely motivated by wanting all…

Unappreciated Love

[223 words] Doing the right thing is hard Harder than it seems it should be. I always think the right will bring me reward. And my good deeds the world will see. But most of the time it goes forgotten, No one notices my noble cares. The satisfaction I hope to receive rarely comes, It…

God’s Eternal Plan

[216 words] The purpose of our meeting at the Lord ‘s table each week is to bring to remembrance the eternal plan of God to offer His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. In the ages before Christ’s time, God ‘s people had offered animal sacrifices to have their sins rolled…

Hating is Serious Business

[494 words] Some of those reading this can recall a television show called “Our Gang.” It flourished in the 1920’s, ’30s and ’40s, but enjoyed a comeback in the ’70s. It featured a lovable group of kids who occasionally got into mischief. Viewers identified with “Spanky,” “Alfalfa,” “Buckwheat” and others of the regular cast. One…

Being Faithful

[147 words] There can be nothing more important in any relationship than faithfulness. It is the test of true devotion and love. It is the virtue that authenticates the bond and communicates an invention to “stick with” one another to the end. We value faithful friends, family members, and especially spouses as the people in…

Home Improvement

[587 words] Recently as Alice and I were traveling, we saw this bumper sticker on the back of a vehicle:‘Home Improvement Begins With the King James Bible.’ We speak of home improvement in different ways. Perhaps we are painting or remodeling our home or maybe even building a new one. There are certainly many ways…

If Today Was the Last Day

[162 words] Imagine that today was the last day of each person you see today. Everyone you associate with at work, school, where you attend worship, your family, your friends, your acquaintances. If you knew today was their last day in this life, what might you do/say differently? How would your conversation, your actions, your…

How to Respond

[525 words] How do we respond to others when they mistreat us? With love and understanding so that we can, hopefully, share the “Good News” with them? Or do we respond with whatever the law will allow? Of course if we choose the second one, we may never have the chance or opportunity to share…

How To Identify a Lukewarm Christian

[171 words] • He has time to read the newspaper everyday but not the Bible. • He spends more time with the sports page than he does in prayer. • He spends as much for pleasure as he gives to the Lord. • For lack of study he is unqualified to teach others. • He…

Faithful Attendance

[430 words] God expects (demands) His faithful followers to worship Him. The Scriptures are emphatic in the faithful child of God reflecting their love and loyalty by coming together with the saints, to worship their Heavenly Father, on the first day of the week. While attendance at worship services is NOT the only measuring stick…

Precious to Christ

[205 words] Anytime we buy something we have to decide how important that thing is to us. There more we want something, the more we are willing to pay for it. You might want a new computer, but I doubt you would be willing to spend $ 150,000 on it. However, you might be willing…

On the Lighter Side (January 2015)

“Dear God: I bet it’s very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it.” – We had just finished tucking our five kids into bed when three-year-old Billy began to wail. Turns out, he had accidentally swallowed…